


Wishes

by mistyautumn



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Some Underaged Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:46:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26471353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistyautumn/pseuds/mistyautumn
Summary: "Cold seems fitting; the world is a cold place that let Ben die" Vanya grieves Ben; Klaus offers his own brand of help.
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Wishes

**Author's Note:**

> Something new again; trying my hand at a little Umbrella Academy. Hope you like it!

It snows for hours. Sitting by her window, Vanya closes her eyes and draws her knees up as tears she can’t seem to stop roll down her cheeks. Cold seeps in and chills her, but she doesn’t move away. Cold seems fitting; the world is a cold place that let Ben die. 

_The world had nothing to do with it._

She pushes the voice of their father out of her mind, something coiling tight in her chest. Their father was _wrong_. She tried to tell the others that, but what does it matter what she says? Her siblings don’t care. 

_Would Ben care?_ She thinks. _Maybe..._

She takes a breath and wishes _... Wishes_ she wasn’t useless; that she could have been there- _helped._ She feels powerless.

_You **are** powerless._

The sob that escapes her is a _force_ , cracking open her chest from the inside and spilling her grief into the world. She is powerless to stop that, too, so she cries, and cries until her eyes hurt.

“You’re gonna get dehydrated.” 

Vanya starts; looks sharply to the door, surprised to see Klaus standing there, looking a little awkward and holding a glass of water in his hand.

“I heard Mom say that before.” He rocks forward, then back, before holding out the glass toward her. “So you should drink something. Ben wouldn’t want you to get dehydrated.” He finishes rather noncommittally. Vanya stands slowly.

“Can you- can you see-”

“No.” Klaus cuts her off a little testily before she can get the question out. Presses the glass into her hand. “I wish I could.” His gaze avoids her and she wonders if he feels it too: shame. She wasn’t even there yet she feels so _ashamed_.

“Oh,” She sighs, then drinks deeply, sputtering and coughing as vodka burns into her throat. “Klaus!”

“What?! It helped _me_.” He insists. “Don’t _waste_ it, do you know how hard it is to steal it?”

“Alcohol doesn’t _hydrate_ you.” Vanya says sourly, thrusting the glass back at her brother.

“But you’re not crying anymore.” He smiles a little. “So it helped.”

Vanya rolls her eyes and sinks onto her bed. Slowly, Klaus steps towards her, then sits down beside her, taking a drink. She notices he doesn’t cough like she did.

“I wish Ben was here.” She confesses finally as silence stretches between them. Klaus turns the glass in his hands, looking into it before looking at her.

“He’d think it was funny.” His lopsided grin makes it hard for Vanya to stay mad. 

“Maybe.” She concedes. "Did you steal it from dad?”

“Trade secret.” Klaus answers matter-of-factly. “Can’t reveal it. The only other person who knows is-” He seems to catch himself; suddenly unsteady, he looks around, eyes settling on the window. “Ben... actually.”

Vanya’s lips press together; that’s a thread she can’t bear to tug on. Instead she takes a shaky breath, scrubs at her eyes. 

“I’m sorry.” She whispers. “I wish...” She wishes so many things.

“Yeah...” Klaus murmurs. “I know.”


End file.
